The Wide Receivers : Where do we stand now !!!

James Jones has grown on me and i hate to see him go but he could be the #1 guy on about four other teams (Jax,St. Louis,San Diego,New England) and get more money so i see him leaving. Boykin has done a solid job don't get me wrong but Jones is a physical blocker and makes acrobatic catches which i havn't seen from Boykin yet. The depth at wr has definitely taken a hit and with Finley out teams will most likely play more cover2. Wr should definitely be a high priority next years draft..i'd go as far as possibly the first round. I love Sammy Watkins from Clemson, this guy is basicly a bigger Randle Cobb with more speed.

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Better WR value can be had in the 3rd and 4th or even later. No need to roll the dice on a 1st round WR and come up empty ( Cordell patterson)
I say we need to look at D Line depth and LB's for the draft in 2014

Better WR value can be had in the 3rd and 4th or even later. No need to roll the dice on a 1st round WR and come up empty ( Cordell patterson)
I say we need to look at D Line depth and LB's for the draft in 2014

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I completely agree. My take is that for the last 25 years we've had QBs that have made a lot of average WRs look great. Look at our recent fill ins. I don't think that its a coincidence that almost all of our WR look good. The Bradys, Mannings, Rodgers of the world, alway seem to have good WR because they make them look good. With better pass pro, we'll have better receivers

Better WR value can be had in the 3rd and 4th or even later. No need to roll the dice on a 1st round WR and come up empty ( Cordell patterson)
I say we need to look at D Line depth and LB's for the draft in 2014

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I concur....no way spend a 1st rounder on WR....yeah if a Lacy type WR drops out of 1st round that was high on your board jump at him in the 2nd....otherwise 3rd-5th are the money rounds where dependable/above average WR are and that's all we need. I'd also keep an eye out for a TE with some size that shows a well rounded skill set, even if Finley is healthy next season I feel it may be very beneficial to look that direction if one comes. Boykin makes strides and may put TE up the "need" lists more than WR (Cobb, Nelson, Boykin, Jones*probably leaving...then late rounders/cheap FAs).

I concur....no way spend a 1st rounder on WR....yeah if a Lacy type WR drops out of 1st round that was high on your board jump at him in the 2nd....otherwise 3rd-5th are the money rounds where dependable/above average WR are and that's all we need. I'd also keep an eye out for a TE with some size that shows a well rounded skill set, even if Finley is healthy next season I feel it may be very beneficial to look that direction if one comes. Boykin makes strides and may put TE up the "need" lists more than WR (Cobb, Nelson, Boykin, Jones*probably leaving...then late rounders/cheap FAs).

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I disagree, if a special kind of talent is available you take him even if it is in the first round. A majority of recent Super Bowl winners had at least one former first round receiver. The value of a Michael Irvin or a Jerry Rice cannot be understated.

Some of you advocate putting a lot of first rounders into the O-line, I couldn't disagree more. Some of the best Offenses in recent memory built their Offensive lines with a variety of mid round picks, this includes the famed Cowboys O-line of the 1990s. The trick is to create a pipeline of talent in the draft. Every year the team drafts one or two OLs in rounds 3-5, with the occasional camp body in rounds 6, 7 or UFA. The idea is that many of these kids will take their game to a new level once playing pro ball. Suddenly the understrength guard has packed on 10-15 pounds of muscle and is a plus player in the physicality department or maybe the workout stud has cleaned up his technique and footwork and turns into a much more consistent player. Even as good players reach the starting rotation the team continues to allocate draft picks to the position group, among the backups there is a constant competition for starting positions. The backups who survive multiple off seasons eventually get a chance to challenge a starter and maybe even start. I.e. Sitton/Lang. I think you can manage a similar talent level this way without sacrificing talent at other parts of your football team.

I disagree, if a special kind of talent is available you take him even if it is in the first round. A majority of recent Super Bowl winners had at least one former first round receiver. The value of a Michael Irvin or a Jerry Rice cannot be understated.

Some of you advocate putting a lot of first rounders into the O-line, I couldn't disagree more. Some of the best Offenses in recent memory built their Offensive lines with a variety of mid round picks, this includes the famed Cowboys O-line of the 1990s. The trick is to create a pipeline of talent in the draft. Every year the team drafts one or two OLs in rounds 3-5, with the occasional camp body in rounds 6, 7 or UFA. The idea is that many of these kids will take their game to a new level once playing pro ball. Suddenly the understrength guard has packed on 10-15 pounds of muscle and is a plus player in the physicality department or maybe the workout stud has cleaned up his technique and footwork and turns into a much more consistent player. Even as good players reach the starting rotation the team continues to allocate draft picks to the position group, among the backups there is a constant competition for starting positions. The backups who survive multiple off seasons eventually get a chance to challenge a starter and maybe even start. I.e. Sitton/Lang. I think you can manage a similar talent level this way without sacrificing talent at other parts of your football team.

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I don't think that we've had Oline problems because we haven't drafted enough in rounds 3-5. Another poster here listed about 20 of TTs midround picks that didn't come close to working out. Drafting more midround Olineman doesn't appear to be the solution unless you thinking that if we were to draft 30-40 of them, then we will find 5 good ones. There's a squirrel and nut story in here somewhere.

It looks to me like the second round is where Thompson “mines gold” at WR: Jennings, Nelson, Cobb, and Murphy (who IMO showed great potential before suffering a career ending injury). The other outstanding WR, Jones, was selected in the 3rd round.

I disagree, if a special kind of talent is available you take him even if it is in the first round. A majority of recent Super Bowl winners had at least one former first round receiver. The value of a Michael Irvin or a Jerry Rice cannot be understated.

Some of you advocate putting a lot of first rounders into the O-line, I couldn't disagree more. Some of the best Offenses in recent memory built their Offensive lines with a variety of mid round picks, this includes the famed Cowboys O-line of the 1990s. The trick is to create a pipeline of talent in the draft. Every year the team drafts one or two OLs in rounds 3-5, with the occasional camp body in rounds 6, 7 or UFA. The idea is that many of these kids will take their game to a new level once playing pro ball. Suddenly the understrength guard has packed on 10-15 pounds of muscle and is a plus player in the physicality department or maybe the workout stud has cleaned up his technique and footwork and turns into a much more consistent player. Even as good players reach the starting rotation the team continues to allocate draft picks to the position group, among the backups there is a constant competition for starting positions. The backups who survive multiple off seasons eventually get a chance to challenge a starter and maybe even start. I.e. Sitton/Lang. I think you can manage a similar talent level this way without sacrificing talent at other parts of your football team.

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True, but guys like Irvin or rice dont pop up that often. You are speaking of a true game changing guy that has immediate impact. Those cards are not delt to you that often and when you see one, I agree to jump on it. But when u don't need a 1st round WR and are in need at other positions that you don't have considerable depth at, I would want a good replacement for Pickett or Raji because one has a lot of miles and the other may or may not be around after this year. That run stuffing is important. When u have a QB like Arod, he can help to make an average WR into an above average WR. Then again some of the greats like Driver have been found in rounds as late as 6th or 7th....so it is all just a guessing game in the end as to weather or not they pan out. Do we need a guy like Rice or Irvin, not really but it would be nice to have. With the way Arod spreads the ball around there really is no need to have 1 big time highlight reel diva. I would rather have a Jordy Nelson and James Jones and Cobb triple combo than have one big time guy that is gunna cry if he does not get enough targets.

I don't think that we've had Oline problems because we haven't drafted enough in rounds 3-5. Another poster here listed about 20 of TTs midround picks that didn't come close to working out. Drafting more midround Olineman doesn't appear to be the solution unless you thinking that if we were to draft 30-40 of them, then we will find 5 good ones. There's a squirrel and nut story in here somewhere.

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Thus far how have out first rounders panned out on the O-line? For that matter how well did the first round selections of Ron Wolf pan out?

True, but guys like Irvin or rice dont pop up that often. You are speaking of a true game changing guy that has immediate impact. Those cards are not delt to you that often and when you see one, I agree to jump on it. But when u don't need a 1st round WR and are in need at other positions that you don't have considerable depth at, I would want a good replacement for Pickett or Raji because one has a lot of miles and the other may or may not be around after this year. That run stuffing is important. When u have a QB like Arod, he can help to make an average WR into an above average WR. Then again some of the greats like Driver have been found in rounds as late as 6th or 7th....so it is all just a guessing game in the end as to weather or not they pan out. Do we need a guy like Rice or Irvin, not really but it would be nice to have. With the way Arod spreads the ball around there really is no need to have 1 big time highlight reel diva. I would rather have a Jordy Nelson and James Jones and Cobb triple combo than have one big time guy that is gunna cry if he does not get enough targets.

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Personally Im opposed to creating rigid rules when it comes to the draft. I'm also prejudiced against grabbing Olinemen in the bottom of the first round unless it's a center. Guards just aren't valuable enough and tackles are usually picked over. John Michaels or Aaron Taylor anyone? I think next year you're looking at a modest extension of Raji's contract with either a Center or a luxury/BVA pick high in the draft.

I don't think that we've had Oline problems because we haven't drafted enough in rounds 3-5. Another poster here listed about 20 of TTs midround picks that didn't come close to working out. Drafting more midround Olineman doesn't appear to be the solution unless you thinking that if we were to draft 30-40 of them, then we will find 5 good ones. There's a squirrel and nut story in here somewhere.

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I think we've had O-line problems because of Coaching and Personnel selection. Those ZBS zone OLs were too susceptible to bull rushers, then a change of scheme meant that the existing pipeline had to be scrapped. Notice how much more successful TT has been at drafting OLs of late in the middle rounds. Lang Sitton and Bak have been good selections, Tretter might be a good one as well.

Okay I'll bite....whose the next Rice in this coming draft? (let it be known Irvin isn't in the same discussion as Rice....)

The thing is we got our A-1 guy on offense in Rodgers, I'm fine if TT and company keep piling in guys like Jennings, Cobb, Nelson, Jones, Boykin, Driver and others that come and go with a few sticking around long.

....yeah if a Lacy type WR drops out of 1st round that was high on your board jump at him in the 2nd....otherwise 3rd-5th are the money rounds where dependable/above average WR are and that's all we need.

The thing is we got our A-1 guy on offense in Rodgers, I'm fine if TT and company keep piling in guys like Jennings, Cobb, Nelson, Jones, Boykin, Driver and others that come and go with a few sticking around long.

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As noted in my post above, three of the five WRs (Driver wasn't drafted by Thompson) you mention you're fine with Thompson "piling in" were picked in the 2nd round, not the 3rd to 5th.

Rodgers does make WRs look better than they would with an average QB, and I think the evidence shows he can make 2nd rounders look like 1st rounders. But IMO it would be a mistake to assume going forward the position can be re-stocked by middle draft picks (and lower) exclusively. The evidence shows Thompson excels at finding WRs in the second round, why not continue to utilize that?

But I agree with easyk83, I don’t like "creating rigid rules when it comes to the draft" and I don’t think Thompson does either. The number of times he’s traded down shows, at the very least IMO, his flexibility regarding acquiring talent in the draft. And that goes back to the idea of talent tiers in the draft. When there are multiple players available in the current “top tier”, it makes sense to trade down within that tier and acquire more picks. But when a player is available who the team has rated in a talent tier above their pick, it’s usually a bad idea to pass on that player. Because as recent Packer history shows, you never know how injuries will deplete a position, even one considered the deepest on the team.

Okay I'll bite....whose the next Rice in this coming draft? (let it be known Irvin isn't in the same discussion as Rice....)

The thing is we got our A-1 guy on offense in Rodgers, I'm fine if TT and company keep piling in guys like Jennings, Cobb, Nelson, Jones, Boykin, Driver and others that come and go with a few sticking around long.

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Jared Abbrederis ;-)

I don't follow College ball closely enough to know who the studs are but again if a team grades out a receiver as the best value available then that team should take him. It's a mistake to reach on a player to fit a position of need in the first round, more often than not you pass on more talented players and wind up taking a mediocre starter, if he ever starts. This is my biggest critique of Ron Wolf, way too many first round reaches with guys like Michaels, Taylor, T-Buck, Carroll and Reynolds.

I don't follow College ball closely enough to know who the studs are but again if a team grades out a receiver as the best value available then that team should take him. It's a mistake to reach on a player to fit a position of need in the first round, more often than not you pass on more talented players and wind up taking a mediocre starter, if he ever starts. This is my biggest critique of Ron Wolf, way too many first round reaches with guys like Michaels, Taylor, T-Buck, Carroll and Reynolds.

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Oddly enough, T-Buck went on to have a solid career, just not with the Pack.

I don't follow College ball closely enough to know who the studs are but again if a team grades out a receiver as the best value available then that team should take him. It's a mistake to reach on a player to fit a position of need in the first round, more often than not you pass on more talented players and wind up taking a mediocre starter, if he ever starts. This is my biggest critique of Ron Wolf, way too many first round reaches with guys like Michaels, Taylor, T-Buck, Carroll and Reynolds.

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Trust me, TT drafts best available. I have no doubt if a WR is on absolute top of his list and it's our pick he's either taking him or trading for more value picks to a team dead set on that player...both options are smart in their own way.

Any chance Boykin's play makes Jones expendable this offseason. There are a lot of guys that need resigning this offseason and finding a cheap option without much, or any drop off would be ideal. Boykins play indicates this is very possible with Jones. Any chance TT pulls the trigger on letting Jones walk? I would hate to see Jones go but again I would hate to see him come back for a price that limits our ability to sign other free agents this offseason. Either way a WR should be taken in the 3rd round or sooner this year. In TT we trust right.

Trust me, TT drafts best available. I have no doubt if a WR is on absolute top of his list and it's our pick he's either taking him or trading for more value picks to a team dead set on that player...both options are smart in their own way.

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Not to nit pick but I think BVA or Best Value Available is the best way to sum up Ted Thompson. He definitely weighs the teams needs and depth chart along with the talent of the player. See Brian Bulaga.